Early access open
Australian businesses still find subcontractors mostly from memory. A name someone passed on, a number saved two years ago, a message sent on a Friday afternoon hoping the person is free. That holds up until the person you rely on is already booked, and then you are starting from nothing in the week you can least afford it.
Workforce Marketplace is an Australian platform where businesses post subcontracted work and subcontractors apply for it, from one account. Early access is open now. This page covers the sectors on the platform, what is worth checking before you engage anyone, and how a job runs from posting to sign-off.
Subcontracting is not only a construction arrangement
Most platforms in this space are built for home services, which means they are built for a homeowner comparing three quotes on a bathroom. That is a different transaction to a business engaging another business, and the tools show it.
Workforce Marketplace spans 42 sectors across trades, professional services, health and care, industrial, resources and property. An allied health practice subcontracting a locum, an IT firm subcontracting a network install and a builder subcontracting a fitout are doing the same thing: engaging another business, under a scope, for a price agreed in advance.
Browse by sector
Every sector below has its own page covering what gets subcontracted there, the credentials worth confirming, and how to write a scope that produces comparable quotes.
Trades and site
- Construction and civil engineering
- Electrical
- Plumbing and drainage
- HVAC and refrigeration
- Fire protection
- Security systems installation
Resources and energy
Professional and technical
- Information technology
- Telecommunications
- Architecture and engineering
- Surveying and spatial
- Building automation and smart buildings
- Inspection, testing and certification
- Administrative and business support
Health and care
- Healthcare and medical
- Allied health
- Aged care and disability (NDIS)
- Childcare and education
- Fitness and wellbeing
Industrial
- Manufacturing
- Automotive
- Aerospace and defence
- Marine
- Forestry and fishing
- Transport and logistics
- Agriculture, horticulture and primary industries
- Animal and veterinary services
Property and services
- Cleaning and facilities management
- Property services and real estate
- Retail merchandising and fitout
- Strata and body corporate
Creative and services
- Events and entertainment
- Hospitality and food service
- Creative and design
- Media and production
- Marketing and advertising
- Professional services
- Security and investigation
- Environmental and waste management
What to check before you engage a subcontractor
Engaging a business is not the same as hiring a person, and getting the distinction wrong is expensive. Five things are worth confirming before work starts.
An active ABN, and whether they are registered for GST. If a supplier does not quote an ABN you are generally required to withhold 47 per cent of the payment and remit it to the ATO. GST registration also tells you whether their price should carry it.
The licences the work actually requires. These are set by state and by sector, and they are not interchangeable. A licence that covers one class of work does not cover the next one.
Insurance appropriate to the scope. Public liability is the common one. Depending on the work you may also need to see professional indemnity, and workers compensation if they carry their own staff.
That the arrangement is genuinely a contract for services. Since the Fair Work amendments, the test looks at the real substance of the relationship rather than the label on the paperwork. Getting this wrong creates back-pay, superannuation and payroll tax exposure. There is a full explanation in Contractor vs Employee in Australia.
A written scope and an agreed payment structure. Most subcontracting disputes are not about quality. They are about what was included, and neither party wrote it down.
How a job runs
- Post. Add the scope, the location, the timeframe and the payment structure. Fixed price, hourly, daily, quoted, or split into milestones for staged work.
- Review. Compare everyone who applies, and see which of their licences have been verified before you engage anyone.
- Manage. Messages, variations, photos and sign-off stay attached to the job rather than scattered across text threads.
- Complete. Close out the job and leave a review, which stays on the profile for the next client.
Applying costs nothing and there are no leads to buy. Payment runs through Stripe, and Workforce Marketplace never stores your card or bank details.
What verification means here
Every account is ABN-verified at sign-up. Beyond that, subcontractors can submit licences, certifications and insurance for verification, and each submission is reviewed by us rather than granted automatically.
Two things are worth being clear about. Verification is opt-in, so a profile may hold credentials that have not been submitted. And it reflects the document as at the date it was reviewed, so it is a point-in-time check rather than a standing guarantee. The profile shows the status against each credential without ever showing the document, the licence number or the ABN, so you get the assurance without anyone circulating their paperwork.
Related guides
- How to find subcontractors for your business
- What insurance does a subcontractor need in Australia?
- Security of Payment Act claims: a plain-English guide
- How to invoice as a subcontractor in Australia (with GST)
Post work, or apply for it, from the same account. Early access is open.